How many of you have hounds that frequently run down their rabbits and catch them? I'm talking cottontails here as I've never run down a hare in the open.
In the past three weeks my hounds have run down and caught 4 grown cottontails after hard pounding runs.
First one was a 45 minute run. Was running all 4 of my females.Rabbit was circling in very heavy weed field and popped out twice for a big circle in more open woods.Dogs were driving him hard with very short checks.Third time he circled in to the woods I could tell they were looking at him and they caught him.By the time I got there all 4 had a section of rabbit and were inhaling him.
Couple of days later was the next time this was a 20 minute hard run along the rail road tracks and to my surprise they caught him in the thick stuff. and again all 4 dogs were munching down by the time I got to them.
Ran in a big corn field last week and after an hour of pouring it on him where the rabbit never left the corn they caught this one.
Today I went to a piece of TVA ground along the lake that I'd never hunted before .Just had Josie and Fly with me.Jumped a rabbit in the open hay field and he immediately went right through a section of woods and in to a large swampy peninsula.Super thick in there and very hard for a man to get around in it.They were putting multiple circles on him in the swamp.He finally came out and made a huge circle around the perimeter of the hay field and back in the swamp where he continued to circle.He came out in the hay field several more times but would quickly head back for the swamp.Saw the rabbit half a dozen times.
The two females were driving him very hard and after an 1 hour and 40 minutes [ this is a long cotton tail run for my hounds ] I heard the squeel and they had caught him in the swamp.I busted my way in to them and by the time I got there there was little more than a head and a foot to take away from them and hang in a tree.Guess I'll have to invest in some tape worm meds.LOL.
These are 15" females of the faster type.
Just curious as to what other's experiences are?
P.S. When during gun season I shoot a rabbit dead my dogs barely give them a second look and go back to hunting never trying to eat them. But, if i wound a rabbit and they run it down or like in the scenarios above they run one down they are going to eat that live rabbit every time unless I'm right there to get it away from them.Thoughts?

From the dogs I've had over the 50 yrs. there have been four, 2 males and 2 females that routinely caught cottontails on the jump or during the run. I was a one dog hunter for many years and what a joy it is when they bring it back to you. Sounds like your dogs are in their prime and are well cared for. Would like to see them run someday. One of my pups I run has the qualities and speed of a catch/lead dog. Great post.

Run to catch style...
They ran this morning right out of the truck and came back eating a squirrel. I think at times they run a rabbit backwards faster than forward. Have had smooth running before with some being caught but how many times they actually run and catch a bunny is tough to say.

From our experience around the 6th or 7th mile that a cottontail is ran is when he is usually caught. If tracking is good and the hounds are pounding and the rabbit has no refuge to take shelter in is when he is caught. Over the last 30 years we have ran many down. In the last 4 years or so of running with garmins we have noticed that 6 or 7 miles is all a cottontail can take and we now will catch our hounds at 5 miles and go find another

Jackson Boys
Excellent post and very informative! I don't own a Garmin so have no idea about distances run.
Guys I run with up north on hare use them and it's always pretty interesting to see distances on a particular hare or how many miles they ran at the end of the day.
I know a lot depends on the running conditions.You can have a picky,poor scent day where the beagles keep em going for an hour or two but never can get up on em and drive.[ cotton tails ]
I find that on a good running day with the dogs I run, a cotton tail can't stay up for much more than an hour and sometimes less or they're going to run him down.He needs to find a hole,rock wall,brush pile,tar road or something to stop the pursuit as his stamina isn't enough.Unlike a hare who's stamina seems bottomless.
I believe it was Willett Randall in Patchwork Wilderness that said out of all game chaseable that the hare was the gamest of all.

Depending upon density of cover etc. When the scenting is strong , very few would live if they didn’t seek refuge. Its just a matter of time before they stiffen up. With warmer temps it can happen quickly. Also have noticed how the ticks have reduced durability of most rabbits hounds catch in the warm weather. When my hounds are pressing hard during training , and the game has been up for what I feel is a questionable amount of time , I tend to pull them and cast for another. I cant train on rabbits that are run to death. Then there is the awful caught rabbit / ensuing dog fight that sometimes results.

When my hounds are pressing hard during training , and the game has been up for what I feel is a questionable amount of time , I tend to pull them and cast for another. I cant train on rabbits that are run to death. Then there is the awful caught rabbit / ensuing dog fight that sometimes results.

I guess maybe I should feel guilty letting my dogs pound the rabbit so hard that they catch him.But I don't!
Guess I feel it is the ultimate dog vs rabbit test.The rabbit is in control of where he goes ,what he does and if he seeks refuge or not.
I've heard that in England they never carry shotguns to shoot their hare.The hounds are expected to run it down and account for their game.
Does running one down make them a better rabbit hound? No! But I have a 8 month old that was in on two of these catches and these were her first "taste" of what she's running and it sure has fired her up in a big way as far as her search / hunt and drive. And she doesn't even give the deer we encounter a second look. Because she got to chew on them? Maybe yes,maybe no but I believe it sure helps to keep her head right and in the game.
During the gun season I don't shoot many rabbits as I'd rather run them than kill them.Many times I'll stand there with the shotgun on my shoulder and watch the rabbit go by numerous times.Just enjoying the race too much to want to end it.
But when they can run one with few to no checks applying relentless pressure and make the catch, there is a certain pride to their performance that's hard to beat!

I agree Shady and the young dogs being in that mix is IMO the best training experience a youngen can get. They are in there for the jump, the run and the prize at the end without man doing anything but allowing them to do what they are bred to do. We also hardly ever shoot a rabbit during gun season UNLESS we are hunting young dogs to put fur in their mouth. If they were in on running them down in running season to put that fur in their mouth we would probably never shoot one during season. The sound and the chase is what gets our motor running not the piling them on the tailgate. I still sit out on the porch and listen to the neighbors coon dogs get struck and treed in my woods from time to time. I don't miss the tromping through the woods at night chasing them but man, I just can't get that sound of the hounds at night out of my blood.